Last Night a Fitbit Saved My Life…

February 14, 2017

Posted by: Tony Peck

Category: Diet and Exercise

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15 years ago I played the controversial video game GTA Vice City. One of the in-game radio stations featured the song “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life”; here it is if you never had the pleasure of listening to this classic 😉 Using that song title as inspiration led me to the title of this post! How’s that for weird but wonderful!

OK, so, you want to know how a Fitbit Charge 2 saved my life? Here are the top 5 areas where having one of these gadgets has truly impacted my life, and in a relatively short time period:

1. I use it to track steps – getting this part out of the way first, as unfortunately they’re not the most accurate of step-tracking devices. It does count steps when I’m in the car, or washing up, getting dressed, and any myriad of other things! However, by following the advice of others (I wear it on my left wrist, and have configured it for left handed use when I’m really right handed, so it reduces the sensitivity) and by removing it when I don’t really need it (i.e. when I’m doing the washing up, etc!), it’s now pretty darn accurate! I’ve worked up from 8,500 steps per day to 10,000, and am hitting that target fairly consistently. Plus it ‘buzzes’ me every hour to remind me to ‘get active’, and encourages me to walk at least 250 steps per hour to get the blood circulating. This has been making a huge difference to my lower back discomfort, which in turn means I sleep better and generally ‘live’ better! Plus it segues nicely into my own 55th Minute Method! BOOM! Feeling better, looking better!

UPDATE: Ever since a recent firmware update, I no longer have issues with it counting steps I didn’t actually take! 😉

2. The silent alarm feature wakes me (and not the rest of the house) at 5:45 am (for my Miracle Morning), and then goes off again at specific intervals during my morning ritual to ‘nudge’ me onto the next part of the ritual. Before, I was getting maybe 4 out of 6 things in the ritual completed. Since using the Fitbit, I’m hitting 6 out of 6! BOOM! Major upgrade!

3. I wear it at night to track my sleep patterns – and have learned a lot from it. Everyone is different, but suffice it to say I get the ‘best’ sleep when I am in bed by 10:00 pm – especially considering I get up at 5:45 am every day for no other reason other than to complete my personal morning ritual by 7:00 am (i.e. before the wife and kids are up and about!) BOOM! No more being the ‘bad guy’ for waking everyone else up!

4. I can ensure, at a glance, that my heart rate is at an optimal level during cardio exercise to ensure it’s actually effective exercise! BOOM! Getting healthier, feeling awesome!

5. My ‘score’ shows I have just hit ‘Good’ fitness for my age, etc. Still a ways to go before I get to ‘Very Good’, but I was only ‘Fair’ when I started out. BOOM! Motivational feedback keeps me challenged to move forwards!

Your list may be different to mine, and that’s OK! The bottom line is this: if you’re committed to make positive changes to your health, but struggle with consistency, the Fitbit Charge 2 makes an excellent real-time motivational and accountability partner!

If you use a Fitbit or other fitness tracking device, how has it impacted your life? I’d love to hear!